Forest Schools In and Around Calgary

Jan 4, 2021

6 min read

As the clock turns over to 2021, we’re quickly approaching the need to register Clara for Kindergarten. With our love of spending time outdoors, we wanted to investigate putting her into a forest school for Kindergarten. There are a number of proven benefits to forest schools including hands-on learning, exercise and real-world examples of learning concepts, however, upon looking it up it became very difficult to find what schools were available in and around Calgary. There is no one list anywhere so I wanted to put together that list.

Below you’ll find all of the Forest Schools and outdoor schools offering programs in and around Calgary. There are some I know that exist that are not listed here and that is because as of the time of publishing this they are closed due to COVID. If there is a school or program missing on here, please send me a message or leave a comment and I’ll add it!

Common Digs – Calgary Nature Kindergarten

The Calgary Nature Kindergarten at Common Digs is operated by the Children’s Commons Ecological Society (CCES). CCES and Common Digs Inc. are separate organizations that have common goals, work collaboratively and share resources.

Operating since 2015, Calgary Nature Kindergarten is the first Nature Kindergarten in Alberta and one of a few across Canada. It is publicly funded and mandated to deliver the Alberta Education Kindergarten curriculum.

Nature Kindergarten at Common Digs:

is a full-day program from 9 am – 3 pm, 2 days per week plus *alternating Fridays
has children spending the majority of each day learning and playing in a natural, outdoor environment
has a class size of 19 children (max.) with an outdoor classroom (Lloyd Park) ratio of 1:9
publicly funded with a $50 application fee and $365 total annual program fee; plus $25-$35 per calendar year for community association/park membership fees (depending on your home address).
Our indoor classroom is located on the lower level of the Tanbridge Academy building at the corner of HWY 22x and 112 St W (5 minutes west of Spruce Meadows) and an outdoor classroom located in Lloyd Park near the Red Deer Lake Community Centre.

For more information, including a contact list, schedule and clothing list click here.

Common Digs – Forest School

The Common Digs program models the Forest School approach that has been well established in Europe since the 1950’s. Research shows a multitude of reasons – intellectual, social, emotional and physical to get children outside spending great lengths of time playing, relaxing and just “being” in nature.

Their Forest School program operates in a variety of different settings and contexts, all designed to support children’s rights to leisure time in nature. Children are given the freedom to spend the majority of time in nature whilst supported by specially-trained practitioners.

Currently, they have two permanent locations, one in Old Okotoks and the other at Rosemont Community Hall backing onto Confederation Park in NW Calgary. Forest School operates Monday-Friday at these locations. Children, ages 3-5 years old, generally attend 1 day per week but can attend up to 2 days per week. Hours are 9:35 am-1:30 pm. Children must be independent in the bathroom to attend.

More information here.

Common Digs – Roaming Forest School Program

The Roaming Forest School is a newly designed program with the hopes of reaching more families across Calgary and area. The program operates one or two days a week at a variety of community-based settings utilizing municipal parks and community-based buildings. The hours of operation and age of child vary by location. Children must be independent in the bathroom to attend.

Heritage Park (SW): Mondays & possibly Wednesdays for $495.00 + gst (payable in 2 payments). The program uses the Millarville Ranchers House as a indoor space when needed for bathrooms and warming up. Hours are 9:30 am-2:30 pm. Children ages 4-6 (and 7 year old siblings) years old can attend.

Lynnwood/Beaverdam Flats Park (SE): It lies along the Bow River in the southeast part of Calgary, sits on approximately 43 hectares of land and is easily accessible from Glenmore Trail and 18th St SE. This location is open to ages 4 years old and older.

More information here.

Common Digs – Homeschoolers/Remote learners

Children’s Commons Ecological Society has created a program to support families that are home schooling or using remote learning.

Find out more information here.

Common Digs – Nature-based Vocational Skills Day program

The Adult Day Program is a pilot project designed to explore the possibilities of nature and sustainability-based micro industries for teens and adults with developmental disabilities. The interest is to see if an environment, that is different than what we mostly experience in today’s world; that is joyful, that celebrates unique interests and skills and builds on those interests to transform them into community-based micro-industries; an environment that is calm and slow-paced, where breaks, downtime and social time are not seen as inefficient but as an act of wellness.

Find out more information here.

Calgary Changemaker School

The Calgary Changemaker School is a not-for-profit accredited independent school for Kindergarten through Grade 6 (adding grade 7 in September and grade 8 in 2022) located just off of the Trans Canada Highway in Springbank. At Changemaker School kids spend a majority of their days outdoors and the average class size is 12.

Calgary Changemaker School – Kindergarten

The Kindergarten program operates five days a week from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. Their primary goal for Kindergarten students is to nurture a lifelong love of learning and they believe young children learn best through play. Play-based classrooms are highly social and active and teachers use the interests of students and their natural curiosity as the driver for instruction.

Find out more information here.

Calgary Changemaker School – Grades 1-6

Their weekly timetable may not look too different from most school schedules at first glance, but the differences are found in the small class sizes, a teaching approach that prioritizes empathy, leadership and Changemaking and that a significant portion of each day will be spent outdoors.

More information including application and tuition costs here.

Growing Roots

Based in Cochrane this child-directed play-based program provides experiences that foster a growing relationship with the natural world. Through DISCOVERY, HEALTHY RISK-TAKING and MESSY FUN, participants deepen their connection with nature, problem-solve and build on age-appropriate social skills. Their WHOLE-CHILD approach, combined with the Mount Saint Francis Retreat Centre site, provides an ideal learning environment.

To find out more information click here.

Paramount Academy

Based in Springbank, Paramount students learn about local wildlife, study animal tracks, and discover more about Alberta’s plants. Children work as a team to blaze trails, build shelters, and explore the forest. They enjoy hands-on outdoor experiences growing plants, working with animals like chickens, and participating actively in care for the land. They pride themselves on not just being a forest school but a true outdoor education experience for young nature enthusiasts.

This is a one day a weekend program.

Find out more about Paramount Academy here.

Rediscover Play

With locations in Water Valley and Bragg Creek, Rediscover play offers forest school and camp options for kids aged preschool to 13.

Rediscover play teaches kids wilderness skills including, shelters, fire building, flint & steel, knots & tarps, compass use, knife & real tool use. Kids will participate in hikes, plant identification, habitat understanding, seasonal learning, story telling, nature crafting, gratitude circles and loose parts play.

For information on schedules, availability and rates check out the Rediscover website.

Rosedale Playschool

Located in the Lower Hall of Wild Rose United Church in Northwest Calgary, Rosedale Playschool is inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education. Their preschool is for 3-4-year-olds and is community-based and oriented and they are a not-for-profit preschool. They have been encouraging minds through play for over 30 years in the community.

Find out more information here.

TimberNook

TimberNook was created by Angela Hanscom who is a pediatric occupational therapist. The TimberNook program is now offered in four countries across the world.

TimberNook of Greater Calgary operates out of Edworthy Park and offers unique, sensory-rich play experiences for children ages 0-9. They provide year-round programs for Tiny Ones (age 0-4) and Little Wild Ones (ages 4-9), as well as multiple summer and winter camp options. They have professional staff delivering quality programs.

For more information on their available class times/days, costs and to register click here.

Upstream Forest School

Operating from McHugh Bluff in Calgary, the Upstream Forest School offers 10-week classes for Preschool, Kindergarten and Grades 1- 6. For days, times and costs you can click here.

Wee Wild Ones

Operating from two locations, one in Fairview the other in Bridgeland, Wee Wild Ones runs childcare, preschool and a variety of camps. Wee Wild Ones was founded in 2013 and uses a child guided, inquiry-based approach to learning, inspired by the Reggio Emilia style of learning. Their childcare and early childhood education programs promote exploration and learning through play, nature and movement. They proudly support and uplift their community, champion diversity and inclusivity and actively work towards greater environmental stewardship.

For more on Wee Wild Ones and their programs check out their website here.